Game 5 v. Graham-Kapowsin

JV - lost :(
Varsity - won!

The 'ole 1,2 punch

Eddie and I love to grapple, kickbox, kung fu...whatever you want to call it. He's always showing me the latest SF move he's learned and I try to surprise him with a 1-2 punch he's not expecting. Well, the other day we were screwing around and he "kunged" and I didn't "fu" quick enough and caught it in the eye! Later that night when I was getting ready for a party and doing my makeup I kept looking in the mirror and trying to wipe off the blue "makeup" above my eye. It wouldn't budge. I ran upstairs and said, "Look what you did!" It wasn't bad enough that my wedding band had broken so I couldn't wear it, and now I had a black-eye. I can only imagine the stories that were flying around the party when we arrived!!

It's all about the hat

Last weekend when we were at my parents' house we celebrated Ashley's 15th birthday a little early. My mom thought it would be funny to get kiddie party hats and horns since the majority of the guests were 5 and under! However, when Ashley saw the party decorations she said, "I thought I was turning 15, not 5!" Everyone had to wear a hat though, and I got proof.


Ashley and Amanda.


Cousin Joshua and Grandpa


Uncle Elliott and Grandma






Uncle Elliott and Aunt Tiffany


Cousin Luke






A girl can never have too many shoes!

Anniversary weekend

We celebrated our 11th anniversary on Sept. 6th. In August, we spent a wine tasting weekend in Walla Walla with our good friends Kim & Eric. (It's taken me a while to get these pictures posted.) We spent our first day visiting the tasting rooms downtown. They've got cute little store front tasting rooms and they're all within walking distance. The second day we visited tasting rooms out in the country and it was by far the highlight. It was fun to see the way each winery decorated...some were very modern, one was in an old barn, another a 14 million dollar estate...all in the middle of beautiful vineyards. Our B&B, The Girasol Inn, http://casagirasol.com/ was also in the middle of a vineyard. It was beautiful, relaxing, and we were served wonderful breakfasts. It was such a great time tasting wine, eating, and just laughing alot with friends we don't get to see often enough. We've already planned another wine weekend in November!



The entrance to Basel Cellars Estate Winery, our favorite.

A portion of the $14m estate

Kim and I in their tasting room.


Enjoying the sun on their patio.

In the backyard of our B&B.



We always have to take our token "bed" picture.


The view from the front of our B&B.


L'Ecole winery is in an old schoolhouse.


Wine tasting is hard work.




Perfect ending to a wonderful weekend.

Happy 40th Birthday Kim!

This weekend we headed back home for my friend Kim's surprise party. Her husband pulled it off without her knowing. The funny thing was, he told her they were going to a Wine Maker's dinner at a winery to get her there. After he'd picked the date, it turned out their son's Homecoming dance was the same night. She and some other moms made dinner for the kids and she was completely stressing about trying to make it to the wine dinner in time. She kept telling Eric, "Can't we just cancel this stupid dinner?" Funny. We had a wonderful time celebrating and seeing friends, some we hadn't seen in years.


Laura, Monica, me & Kim

Game 4 v. Puyallup

We played our rival high school and unfortunately JV lost. However, Ashley got some playing time, which has been scarce, so she was excited. However, Varsity won! GO RAMS!!!

My Strong Willed Child

Hailey has always been strong-willed. Once she gets an idea in her head she doesn't let it go, no matter what. There have been times when I've told her no about something and she will cry, and cry, and cry. Usually it's when we're in the car and there's no escape! Sometimes I wonder how she even remembers what she was mad about in the first place. As I listen to her scream as we fly down the road (at the speed limit of course) trying to get home as fast as possible I wonder "Will this strong will take a positive spin in the future?" Well, today we got our first look at the positive result of her determination. Last weekend I took the training wheels off of her bike and ran behind her holding her seat so she could practice her balance. After about two tries of this she said, "Mommy, I don't want you to help me." Okay, I'm thinking there is no way she's going to be able to get this by herself but I just sit and watch, keeping my mouth shut. She pushed herself around with her feet, every once in a while trying to peddle but only getting about half a rotation before she lost her balance. This morning she tried coasting in our driveway and holding her feet up, which she did pretty well. So, this afternoon when she got home from school she wanted to try the bike again. Here's what happened...

What the heck do I know anyway? She didn't need my help! She completely taught herself to ride her bike in about 3 days. Go figure. Now if I can just channel that "will" into more positivity...like dishes and laundry!?!

Little Helpers

We made cookies the other day. I got the recipe from my cousin Katie but have never tried it. They're called Super Oreos and they're pretty yummy. Here's a peek at our fun.

Game 3 v. Issaquah

JV - WIN!
Varsity - WIN!!

Game 2 v. Tahoma

Serve that ball!





We won! Varsity too!

New venture

Okay, I admit it, I'm scared. I've been hoping for this opportunity for a while now, a way to get my foot in the door, but now that it's here I'm scared...real scared.

I've been taking a Cardio Funk class at the Y since about May. LOVE IT! Every month we focus on one style of dancing...hip hop, salsa, country, ...and each week we practice the routine over and over. So, by the end of the month you've learned an entire dance! This month we're learning an 80's routine. It's so much fun and such a great work out. You hardly know you're working because of all the fun you're having, except for the sweat dripping from your brow! :)

The instructor, Brie, is pregnant. Earlier in the summer she was having sciatic pain and asked me to lead the class. I didn't have to say anything, she did all the talking, I just did the moves. Well, for most of the summer I haven't been able to make it to the class with the kids being home and all. So, I walk in today and the first thing she says is "Traci, I'm so glad you're back! I have a question to ask you!" Forboding music...pit in my stomach... "Would you be interested in taking over the class for me until after the baby's born?" Gosh, so here's the chance I was looking for, right? Questions are running through my head...I have to lead the class? Talk in front of everyone and look like I'm having fun doing it? Make up dance routines and lead them competently? I can't dance as well as Brie!!

After talking to Brie slightly less scared. I told her I didn't feel like I could create dance routines on my own. She said she would create them and teach them to me, then I would just have to teach the class. Piece of cake. Yea, right. So now I just have to get the okay from the Y and take a class from them to be certified. However, she asked me to start...next week! I'd better go start practicing my "running man" and "roger rabbit".

Doin' The Puyalllup!

The Puyallup Fair is a tradition here...this year I was trying to avoid it. The only time Eddie could go was on a weekend and weekends are AWFUL because it's so crowded. I didn't want to brave the fair alone. So, I was hoping I could just not mention the fair and nobody would be the wiser. Well, the schools give out free tickets to the fair AND let the kids out early one day just to attend the fair! Hunter and Hailey came running home from school ranting and raving about the fair...the rides...the animals! How could I resist? I did avoid going on "fair day" as I knew that would be crazy. Instead we picked the HOTTEST day (83) to go. I guess that's better than last year...it POURED on us. We rode rides, saw lots of animals, watched Mutton Bustin' (kids 6 and younger hanging on to a sheep for dear life as it runs across the corral - I tried to get Hunter to do it, he said maybe next year) and we ate ourselves silly! Here's some of the highlights. '

Face painting is always a highlight

What's the Fair without cotton candy? Too bad I forgot the wet wipes.

Headin' down the lazy river.

Racing with his friend Cody.

Hailey and Kiana trying to catch up.

Wee!

Hunter loved this little bunny. I think he would have stayed here all day.

What's a fair without piglets? These were 3 days old.

Season begins

Ashley had her first JV volleyball game last night against Bellarmine. They won and so did varsity.

Warming up

Gettin' the ball

This must be her concentration face

There were 4 in the bed...

and the little one said, "Roll over, Roll over." Looks like Hailey was the one to roll over. Her legs are hanging off the bed. You know cats, they won't move for anyone. Cougar, Tigee and Sugar must really love our sweet Hailey. Can't believe she was able to sleep like this!

The Climb

Rachel, who planned this trip, is a hard core adventure girl. She thought we'd go on a little climb that would take us about 5 hours to go up and back down. We climbed the South Sister which is 10,358 feet...pretty much straight up. No nice switchbacks to ease the climb, and alot of it was over loose rocks and sand. Those that had climbed higher mountains said this by far was the hardest they'd ever done. It took us 9 hours.





That's the summit...way, way, way back there in the distance!




One of the beautiful views on our way up.





We did it! (Can you believe the gal in the purple shirt is 5 months pregnant? Now that's hard core!)

The hardest part was coming down. It was VERY painful on the knees and quads. We could hardly walk for the rest of our trip.